Billy Corgan Says He Was "Borderline Criminally" Deceived At The End Of His Tenure With TNA

Billy Corgan announced a resolution to his lawsuit against Impact Wrestling on November 28th, 2016, but the sting from the messy business venture hit the NWA owner on a personal level.

Corgan sued Impact Wrestling (then TNA) for unpaid loans of $1.8 million after the company failed to repay him in a timely manner. He was made the president of the company in August 2016 bringing a cash infusion with him that Impact desperately needed. Impact Wrestling executives including Dixie Carter decided to seek out other sources of cash flow a few months after Corgan's entrance, eventually finding an answer in Anthem Sports.

"Oh yeah," Corgan said on Busted Open Radio when asked if his final days with Impact Wrestling got personal. "To put it simply I was completely deceived by people I thought were my friends. We're not just talking about people who are business associates, we're talking about going to people's houses, playing with their kids. In some cases, [I was] staying in their houses.

"To realize that they have no problem stabbing you in the back, that was pretty shocking to me. You know, look life happens. Things happen, but that was some pretty scummy stuff."

TNA and Anthem Sports issued a joint statement on November 3rd, 2016 saying Corgan was no longer with the company. This didn't solve the dilemma that Corgan was still owed repayment for his substantial loan.

At the time of their settlement, Anthem vice-president Ed Nordholm spoke about the satisfying conclusion of the company's legal issues with Corgan.

"We are pleased to conclude these arrangements with Mr. Corgan," Nordholm said. "The events leading to litigation were unfortunate but also reflected all parties' desire in good faith to support the company. The arrangements we have made with Mr. Corgan respect all parties' gratitude for his contributions to Impact Wrestling, both creatively and financially. We can now close this chapter and look forward to making Impact Wrestling a leader in the professional wrestling world."

While on Busted Open Radio, Corgan said situations and entire events were fabricated by people the Tonight, Tonight singer thought he could trust. He soon found himself living in a "wacky world" where he felt wronged to a criminal extent.

"The numbers are out there," Corgan continued. "I had put $1.8 million of my own cash into the company. There are literally where if I didn't put the money in the company would have been shut down. There would be no Impact Wrestling today if I didn't write a check on that particular day.

"What was weird to me was not only that I was being deceived in my estimation fraudulently, you know borderline criminal. In fact, I even talked to authorities whether there was criminality involved and there were differing opinions about actual criminality. Then once it went into more of a legal process because that was advised by attorneys the most likely way to recover my money which I ultimately did.

"What was even more shocking was watching people that you had considered only months before literally inventing stories out of whole cloth. I mean literally inventing situations and scenarios that didn't happen. Then you start getting into like, 'wow, I'm in a bad Vince Russo wrestling angle here, like, did Vince book this s--t?' It was like 'you've got to be kidding me,' it was wacky world."

Corgan currently owns the National Wrestling Alliance. After announcing his purchase on October 2nd, 2017, Corgan has focused on reviving the once-flourishing company's brand. Nick Aldis, the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion is set to defend his title against Cody Rhodes on September 1st at the All In event.

If you use any portion of the quotes in this article please credit Busted Open with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription